An honest weigh-in on the Qlimax 2017 line-up

As the summer drew to a bitter end, Hard Dance fanatics pulled on their sweaters and geared their minds (and bodies) up for indoor season. With countless mind-blowing productions scheduled to keep us warm during these depressing months, the crown star of them all, Qlimax, has very recently spilled the beans on who will be taking the reins in the mighty GelreDome on the 18^th of November.

With the colossal announcement spread out over the course of a few days, Q-dance had the entire scene talking about which artists have been crowned as ‘chosen ones.’ Suddenly, the dissatisfied fan takes a Gordon Ramsay-inspired brutality to the keyboard, or the jubilant Qlimax first-timers express their happiness through an incoherent stream of emojis.

But hey, love it, or hate it, the Qlimax 2017 line-up is as follows:

TNT

D-BLOCK & S-TE-FAN

WILDSTYLEZ

DA TWEEKAZ

NOISECONTROLLERS & ATMOZFEARS

FREQUENCERZ

SUB ZERO PROJECT

GUNZ FOR HIRE

N-VITRAL

VILLAIN

It wouldn’t be an AAN article, if we didn’t take a moment to share a piece of our minds on this years’ spectacle. Of course (to ease any butts that may be hurt), this article is purely based on personal opinion. Everybody has their own opinion about who should (or shouldn’t) be on the line-up and published in this article is mine (so deal with it).

So… Do you want the good news or bad news first?

Let’s get the classic Cassi whinge out of the way first, shall we?

CONS

I didn’t anxiously await or ponder on the line-up, mainly because I could already predict the majority of the names on there. But then again, this is the case for most major events. More than half of this line-up has performed numerous times at Qlimax and despite the few freshies on this years’ line-up, I think that it was about time that Q-dance stepped up and really surprised people completely. Hell, they’d already sold out completely in a matter of hours, so why not just do a full-on 360 and have every jaw to the floor…?

Whether it be an innovative or ‘standard’ line-up, Qlimax will always sell out, so I feel slightly disappointed with the lack of risk-taking this year.

There are so many artists who truly deserve a spot at Qlimax and one of them (from the top of my head) I can speak confidently about is Radical Redemption. He has worked day and night in the studio to perfect his fourth album (not to mention, first, second and third albums too), he’s created countless chart-toppers and has done astonishing things for Hardstyle in general, but has never, ever been featured on the Qlimax line-up. I feel quite sad that Raw Hardstyle fans aren’t given any artists who have a real rough sound (Hardcore act excl). Some may classify Frequencerz, Gunz For Hire and Sub Zero Project as ‘Raw,’ but if you take a listen to all of their recent tunes, the majority of the time they aren’t extremely rough and are more of a great blend between ‘accessible’ and raw.

Furthermore, I truly feel that there are a handful of other wildcard artists who have been working insanely hard and have deserved a spot (over the past few years). Digital Punk, D-Sturb, Warface, Delete, Hard Driver and Phuture Noize are all great examples – especially Digital Punk; he’s done an insane amount of great stuff for the scene with his ‘Unleashed’ movement, but has never been featured on the Qlimax line-up.

Long story short: the line-up is lacking more ‘extreme’ names in Hardstyle, as well as wildcard names.

Enough critique – let’s now focus on the positive!

PROS

Aaand, N-Vitral saves the day! Holy fucking crabbie; it leaves me speechless with how impressed I am that Q-dance included this crispy Hardcore legend on the line-up. Releasing music, challenging listeners and pushing boundaries since 2002, if there’s a Hardcore act who truly deserves this spot, it’s him. Big ups to Q-dance for including some well-craved crispy bassdrums on the 2017 line-up.

Another act on the line-up who has FINALLY been awarded this opportunity is Da Tweekaz. I am struggling to find the words to express how much these guys deserve to perform at this mysterious soiree. Off-stage, I know the guys behind Da Tweekaz and can vouch that they are a pair of down-to-Earth, humble, genuine and hard-working dudes. They approach their careers with such positivity and passion and the innovation they have provided to the genre with their insanely uplifting music is something that will go down in history. Kudos to Q-dance for finally giving these guys a place, and congratulations to Da Tweekaz!

I didn’t realise this until I actually looked into it, but it’s been many years since D-Block & S-te-Fan was included on the Qlimax line-up. These two dudes are literally my guilty pleasure when it comes to ‘Melodic’ Hardstyle and their newly released album ‘Antidote’ has been a stand-out work within the plethora of albums in 2017.

All in all, regardless of who’s on the line-up or not, Qlimax is always an overwhelmingly beautiful production and there’s no doubt that Q-dance will be aiming big for this years’ stage and show. For all who were lucky enough to get tickets, it’s time to gear up, ‘cause the date is fast-approaching!

Wanna share your thoughts about the line-up? Feel free to drop your comment in the box below!